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Bulgarian folklore ensemble grabs Grand Prix at international festival in Poland

БНР Новини
Photo: archive
The Rozova Dolina (Rose Valley) ensemble from Karlovo won the Grand Prix at the Bydgoszcz Musical Impressions Festival in Poland. The Bulgarian ensemble won the prize in competition with 19 music and dance ensembles from 11 countries of Europe, Asia and South America.

“The international festival organized by the youth centre in Bydgoszcz is a venue where performers from all over the world meet to demonstrate their talent in different spheres of art and culture,” says Miroslav Vassilev, artistic director and choreographer of Rozova Dolina. “There was an expert jury with members from the hosting country and from USA. Our ensemble was awarded the Grand Prix at the 38th International Bydgoszcz Musical Impressions Festival for highest artistic achievement.”

Rozova Dolina ensemble was founded in 1972. Its concerts are invariably a panoply of choreographic and musical artistry. The talents from Karlovo have been applauded many a time in Germany, France, Russia, Belgium, Romania, Greece, Serbia, Spain, the Czech Republic. The ensemble is holder of the title “representative ensemble” in the national section (Bulgaria) of the International Council of Organizations of Folklore Festivals and Folk Arts (CIOFF).

What repertoire did the Rozova Dolina ensemble present at the forum? Miroslav Vassilev:

“The Rozova Dolina ensemble presented music and dance from the regions of Thrace, Srednogorie and the Shoppe region. The musical accompaniment was by a student’s orchestra from the Music Academy in Plovdiv and soloists from the Trakia ensemble. Singer Diana Dimitrova, winner in the Bulgarian National Radio’s Young Folklore Talents contest presented the typical folklore singing from two specific dialect regions – Pazardjik and Graovo.

All participants in the festival’s contest progamme had to perform a Polish song. The Bulgarian musicians touched the members of the jury and the audience with the traditional song “Cuckoo”, made famous by the Polish ensemble Mazowsze; the solos were performed by Dimitar Stoilov, Diana Dimitrova and Pepa Mileva to the accompaniment of the ensemble’s orchestra. At the gala concert at one of the most modern music theatres in Poland, the Opera Nova, Rozova Dolina presented the dance show Fete in the Rose Valley with choreography by Dimitar Doychinov and music by Prof. Assen Diamandiev.”

The dance show presents rose picking season, so typical of the region of Karlovo, a time when the emblematic Rose Festival takes place in the town, a festival that has been held regularly ever since the end of World War I.

“The Rozova Dolina ensemble from Karlovo has continued the tradition of Bulgarian ensembles reaching the highest artistic standards and coming out winners in this prestigious international festival,” says artistic manager Yanka Docheva. Maria Gradeshlieva, headmistress of the music school in Kotel adds: “At the festivals in Poland, the Bulgarians are a veritable phenomenon. The jury is international and this makes these awards all the more precious.”

During their stay in the town of Bydgoszcz the dancers and musicians from the Rozova Dolina ensemble met with the Bulgarian community in the town; the media in Poland gave coverage to their performances.

English version: Milena Daynova 



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